Firefighter Fitness and Metabolism

What is Metabolism?

You may often here around the firehouse someone say "I have a slow metabolism."  Usually these individuals are a little on the larger size and often like to joke about their size.  Unfortunately these people are at a very high risk to keep the trend of heart related Firefighter fatalities in tact.  I'm not saying that larger individuals cannot perform the job, in most cases they are great firefighters.  What I am saying is that there is more to the picture than a "slow metabolism."

There are a large number of individuals that believe the reason they are overweight has nothing to do with their appetite, and/or level of activity. They assume it is an inherent problem with their “metabolism”. So today I wanted to clear the air around the firehouse (and other houses) about what metabolism really is.

Taber’s Medical Dictionary defines Metabolism as: The sum of all the physical and chemical changes that take place within an organism; all energy and material transformations that occur within living cells.

My definition: The bodies use of nutrients and oxygen to produce energy; measured in calories.

What is RMR or BMR?

BMR or RMR is the number of calories the body needs to maintain basic bodily function. This represents 55-60% of a person’s metabolism. The other 30-40% is the energy cost of being active and the remaining 5-10% of Metabolism is Thermo-genesis, which is the body’s response to changes in the environmental temperature.

Metabolism varies between individuals due to:

• Body Composition (Fat vs. Muscle)

• Body Weight

• Age

• Gender

Metabolism can and will change as a result of weight loss, caloric restriction, change in body composition (body fat) and exercise. When one loses weight their metabolism will typically decrease. Remember one of the variables in metabolism is weight. The engine (your body’s vital organs) must work harder for a heavier individual.

Aerobic exercise burns calories but does not have a long-standing effect on metabolism; it is temporary. Lean body mass (muscle) is metabolically more active even at rest. Please note this is not saying that aerobic activity is unnecessary in the process of weight management. In fact, research now shows that the combination of resistance training (building muscle) and aerobic exercise (burning calories) is the most effective means for losing weight.

This is as simple as it gets:

FOOD INPUT (calories) is either  used as energy or stored as fat.

The more active you are the more your food will be used as energy, not stored as fat. Point being, get active and stay active. If you aren't currently following a fitness program I recommend trying the FireRescue Fitness 28-day Quickstart Progrm, you can get it here for FREE.

“ And what is man without energy? Nothing- nothing at all.” – Mark Twain

A new weapon for Firefighters war on Heart Disease

Heart disease kills more on-duty firefighters than anything else -- and it is definitely linked to emergency duties, a Harvard study shows. Most people think firefighters' biggest death threats are fires and collapsing buildings. But over the last 30 years it's been shown that 45% of firefighters' on-duty deaths come from heart disease.    Over these last 30 years the actual percentage of fire calls has decreased yet the rate of heart attacks has remained the same.  So why haven't we (as Firefigthers, Paramedics and EMT's) done anything to prevent it?  Part of the issue is that firefighters exertion on the fire scene causes an excessive amount of stress on the heart, thus causing heart attacks.  Many of the firefighters that died from a heart related issue had prior "heart health warning signs" like high cholesterol and high blood pressure.  These heart health risks coupled with the extreme exertion are a bad and risky combination.

I personally think that we need to take a proactive approach to the issue.  The FireRescue community needs to commit to a complete exercise program that emphasizes not only heart health but overall strength and wellness.  


Recently I've discovered another way Firefighters, Paramedics and EMT's can combat their high risk of heart attack (and cancer).  CLICK HERE to Read more......and as always, STAY SAFE.

Firefighters...the ultimate athlete?

As a firefighter (paramedic and emt included), you train to mitigate the risks that you are sure to face on the job.  Your fitness cannot be a liability, it must be on par with the skills you have spent so much time learning.  Like an athlete, you must be game ready at all times. What does it mean to be game ready as a firefighter?  To be ready, you must be training like a firefighter. I see too many firefighters training like bodybuilders or like the athletes that they may have been in high school or college. You can't train like a triathlete to play football nor train like a football player to play hockey.  Training like a firefighter requires that you train in a way to specifically address the physical requirements of the job.  That means working to acquire extreme levels of cardio vascular, muscular and metabolic endurance. You need the ability to go full throttle for 30, 40 or 60 minutes. You need to be able to recover quickly so that you can get back in the game. Some water, a new bottle of air and you are good to go.  You also MUST have as strong core and good flexibility.  With all this in mind let me ask you:  "Are you training like a firefighter?"
This website is dedicated to helping you not only train like a firefighter,  get you Fit for Duty, stay Fit for Duty, and become a fire athlete.